The O-O Transportation System:

It’s Not Broken

To the Editor:

On July 13, the Republican Town Committee unanimously voted to support retaining the current owner-operator (O-O) school-transportation system.

For eight decades, school children in Newtown have been transported on buses owned and driven by an alliance of neighbors and friends, in whom we trust. These residents have been strong threads in fabric that is our community. More than bus drivers, they represent familiarity and security to children. To parents, they’re symbols of reliability and accountability. To the town, they’re taxpayers.

Under the “intangibles” column, the O-Os are neighbors, friends, sports team coaches and sponsors. They are religious school instructors and volunteers for local institutions, charities and boards and commissions. Economically, much of their compensation stays local; in housing, patronage of local businesses, home and vehicle loan payments to local banks and service business that maintain and repair their vehicles. They buy local groceries, support our food banks, and pay taxes. Even more intangible are freebies provided by individual owner-operators, including:

*No-cost shuttle transport for people attending events like the Labor Day Parade and Relay For Life.

*Volunteer, on-call service as part of Newtown’s Emergency Response Team, including the 2010 Relay For Life Saturday night storm evacuation, transport of people stranded by accidents or closures of I-84 and local arteries, and 24/7 emergency transport in the event of incidents at Garner.

*Complimentary, safe transport for high school students attending prom.

As voters and taxpayers, we demand the Board of Education — comprised of Newtown residents elected to represent all voters and taxpayers and entrusted with serving the best interests of our town’s children and families — take charge of this decision and ensure that matters are handled fairly and with regard for the values and wishes expressed by our community.

We are Republicans. As such, we are aware of the need to drive down costs wherever reasonably possible. We believe in hard negotiating, competitive bidding, and getting the most for our tax dollars. But we also recognize “value-added” and hear the local outpouring of O-O support.

Does this mean we must pay significantly more for transportation in the future? We don’t think so. However, we insist that this 80-year institution be treated with the consideration with which it treats our children. The school administration has been accused of not providing the O-Os a level playing field, comparing apples to oranges and slanting the process to dilute the value of intangibles and desires of the community it should serve.

Please set this right and follow the call of the voters. Use this bid process as an exercise in pencil-sharpening, compare apples to apples and provide the O-Os the right of last refusal.

How do you place a value on an 80-year-old system built on neighborly trust and reliability? We don’t have an easy answer except to modify an old adage: “If it’s not broken and provides value-added services to ensure the safety of our children and enrich our town at a competitive price that voters and taxpayers are willing to pay, don’t fix it.”

Sincerely,

Dennis Bloom, chairman

Mitch Bolinsky, vice chairman

Shirley Paproski, treasurer

Republican Town Committee

Philo Curtis Road, Sandy Hook                                                                      July 25, 2011